Posted on 12/28/2011 2:18:33 PM PST by blam
In 2012 The Economy Will Be On 'Firmer, Albeit Unsteady, Footing'
Peter Demirali, Cumberland Advisors
Dec. 28, 2011, 4:51 PM
The last twelve months have been quite remarkable in terms of volatility and absolute levels of interest rates. The bond market was whipsawed by events in Europe and Washington. Greece was the poster child for the debt crisis in Europe but it was merely the first country to feel the wrath of the capital markets. Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and ultimately Italy experienced difficulty accessing the cash markets to roll over debt. You can view the spreads on various European sovereign debt (European contagion charts) on our website at www.cumber.com.
As the European debt crisis worsened, investors flocked to the U.S. In the U.S., markets were roiled by our illustrious leaders in Washington who were unable to agree on a long-term plan to reduce deficits and grow the economy. Additionally, in August Standard and Poor’s downgraded the credit rating of the federal government from its AAA status. In spite of this upheaval, treasury yields declined to record lows.
Ten year yields began the year near their highs as the economy appeared to be gaining strength. However, rising energy and food prices in the first four months of the year restrained consumer spending, causing the economy to slow. Job growth remained weak to moderate, and the housing sector continued to flounder.
The range on the ten-year treasury was more than two full percentage points (3.74% high in February and 1.72% low in September). The range was similar for thirty-year treasuries. We end 2011 with ten year yields around 2 % and thirty year yields at 3%. The yield curve has flattened by approximately one full percentage point as the Federal Reserve is...
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(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Unexpected!
I suppose even a quicksand pit eventually has a bottom.
So which is it, “firmer” or “unsteady”? How can it be both?
Just another puff piece to prop up the Kenyan.
Translation: "You rubes need to go out and buy stocks and take out mortgages again so we insiders will have enough cash to buy up hard assets in advance of the Depression."
I hate to see Obama getting any undeserved benefit out of the fact that the economy and those in it will try to better their situation.
“Firmer”, in this instance, is an entirely relative term.
Is Jell-O firmer than quicksand? Both could slow down a free fall, but not without doing severe damage to the object that was freely falling before.
Still end up bogged down and continuing to sink.
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